Cooper Katz McKim
Cooper Katz McKim uses the business beat to show how rules, markets and money shape everyday life, moving easily between financial crime, regulation and the science behind daily decisions. He reports for NPR on business and economic stories, often in short audio segments that combine timely news with clear, accessible explanation.
Financial crime and the rules of the market
McKim focuses on how the financial system really works when laws, incentives and human behavior collide. In his coverage of insider trading, he explains why catching it has become harder as technology, new trading platforms and complex information flows change how people move in and out of markets. He looks at the tools regulators have, how enforcement lags behind innovation, and what that gap means for fairness and trust in the system. His business reporting stays close to policy and enforcement, making white-collar crime and market oversight understandable without losing the nuance.
Money, research and everyday decisions
Alongside market stories, McKim brings in social science and research that touch daily life.
In the same piece where he breaks down the difficulty of policing insider trading, he also reports on how helpful extra sleep is for kids, drawing on research about school schedules and child wellbeing. That pairing reflects a consistent thread: he treats business as one part of a wider ecosystem of work, family and health, and uses evidence from studies to connect numbers and policies back to real routines and outcomes.
His segments often move from a market or policy question to a practical, human one, showing how research insights filter into household decisions.
Explainer-first audio across the news cycle
McKim works in fast-moving news formats where each segment has to do a lot of work in a short time.
His pieces are built as tight explainers, often packaging two distinct but complementary stories into a single broadcast slot. He distills complex topics like financial enforcement or emerging research into plain language, prioritising what listeners need to understand the stakes and what, if anything, is changing.
The tone is straightforward rather than argumentative, with an emphasis on clear takeaways instead of hot takes.
Regulation, public impact and a policy lens
Before joining the business team at NPR, McKim reported on energy and environmental issues for regional public radio, covering how policy choices land on communities and industries. That background in regulation and public-impact reporting carries into his business work. He is drawn to stories where rules are in flux, enforcement is under pressure, or new evidence challenges how systems are supposed to work.
Whether the subject is insider trading or children’s sleep, he looks at who sets the rules, who benefits, who is left out, and how new information might push institutions to change.
4 more business journalists.
Aaron Karp
Aaron Karp is distinct for connecting airline networks, airport infrastructure, air cargo and policy. He is a senior editor at Air Transport World and has covered aviation since 1999. He has also worked as an editor for cargo-focused and daily aviation publications. His real beat is how airlines and airports respond to growth, regulation, trade conditions, sustainability pressures and technology changes. He covers route planning, network development, airport capacity, infrastructure, cargo flows, trade lanes, safety, air traffic control and future technology. He reports through news, features, opinion pieces, briefings and podcasts. He uses data, executive insight and industry conference reporting to explain market changes. His work links cargo metrics and trade policy to carrier strategy, and connects infrastructure and sustainability decisions to resilience, costs and long-term growth.
Adrienne Roberts
Adrienne Roberts is a business journalist at the Detroit Free Press who covers how policy, regulation and corporate decisions affect Michigan’s cannabis market, jobs, universities and health systems. She has a sustained focus on cannabis taxes, licensing, sales, product rules, consumer safety and local tax revenue. She also reports on unemployment, worker protections, corporate settlements, hiring, higher education, student safety, housing, data centers, health care access and economic forecasts. Roberts joined the Detroit Free Press in 2020 after covering automotive retail, dealers and labor issues for The Wall Street Journal. She explains complex business and regulatory changes with data, legal detail and on-the-ground voices. Her stories focus on practical effects for workers, students, consumers and communities, showing both the numbers and the people behind them.
Alex Bronzini-Vender
Alex Bronzini-Vender is a business reporter who focuses on how economic forces and corporate decisions shape specific communities and industries. He covers business for the Washington Monthly, writing reported pieces at the intersection of commerce and public life. His work reflects the magazine’s emphasis on linking markets and money to power, policy, and everyday experience. He treats business not as balance sheets and deals but as choices that affect local realities. In “Fear and Loathing in Palo Alto,” he uses a city tied to the tech sector to examine how a powerful industry influences a community. He grounds his business beat in on-the-ground consequences rather than treating corporate and financial developments in isolation.
Alex DeMarban
Alex DeMarban stands out for tracking major energy projects over time while showing how economic shifts affect local businesses. He reports for the Anchorage Daily News on business, oil and gas, and general assignments. His coverage focuses on Alaska LNG, long-haul energy projects, mining, ports, transportation infrastructure, and the everyday businesses that keep the state running. He examines financing, tax legislation, labor agreements, regulatory approvals, timelines and costs, and connects government and corporate decisions to workers, communities and consumers. He also reports on restaurant closures, grocery stores, breweries, meaderies, parking and trade disputes. His past coverage includes an open-pit mine near the proposed Ambler road, federal port grants and competitive elections. He reports through dollar figures, project details, public records, business owners and affected workers, showing how policy and resource development play out on the ground.